On
HOLLYWOOD CHRISTMAS, composer and
multi-instrumentalist RICHARD WILLIAMS weaves a rich
tapestry of big band swing, orchestral, and rock arrangements that
create a new, updated sound for a dozen Christmas classics.
Williams
has found success writing music for the lucrative online gaming
market. Although he has been playing and composing music for over
15 years, HOLLYWOOD CHRISTMAS is his debut album.
Partly driven by his Mormon faith, Williams decided to show off his
considerable arranging chops by putting his own spin on these
well-known and beloved songs.
Williams
was born in Utah but grew up in Salinas, CA. He started studying
piano at a young age and performed with his school band since
elementary school. After a while, with his mind buzzing with
musical ideas, he began learning to play other instruments and
eventually learned the sax, trombone, clarinet, and trumpet. He
first became inspired to compose music when we saw the movie
“Amadeus,” which was about Mozart and his contentious relationship
with fellow composer Salieri. Williams says, “I was very young when
I saw the movie, but I fell in love with composing, and I knew from
then on that I wanted to write music.”
Williams
returned to Utah to study at Brigham Young University and has
remained in Provo ever since. He majored in film scoring and, since
his mother is from Japan, he also majored in Japanese. While in
school, he composed music for student films and garnered two
Student Emmys (College TV Awards) for his scores for student
animation films.
Although
orchestral music was William’s first love, he enjoyed playing in
school jazz bands and became enamored of the big band sound,
especially Gordon Goodwin’s Big Phat Band. But writing for the
online game market requires a composer to be able to write in
different styles, and Williams soon became adept at writing and
arranging in a wide variety of genres.
He
was inspired to record an album after taking a master class with
Chris Walden, who has written 1,500 orchestral and big band
arrangements for artists like Michael Bublé, Josh Groban, and Paul
McCartney, among many others. The time Williams spent in class was
invaluable, and after recording one of his compositions with
Walden’s band as part of the curriculum, he was energized to begin
his own full-length project.
Williams
is attracted to mainstream jazz and has been particularly enamored
with Michael Bublé’s Christmas album and the Carpenters’
album, Christmas Portrait, for the way it encompassed pop and sacred music
along with light classical and light jazz. Williams wanted the same
elements on his album but with an even bigger, more lush sound, so
he began his project by assembling a top-notch band of some very
well-known jazz musicians, including saxophonists ERIC
MARIENTHAL, SAL LOZANO, BRANDON FIELDS, DAN KANEYUKI, and
WILL
VARGAS; trumpet
players WAYNE BERGERON, ROB SCHAER, KYE PALMER, and MITCHELL
COOPER; and trombonists ANDY MARTIN, JOEY SELLERS, ERIK
HUGHES, and ROBERT TODD. RICHARD WILLIAMS on piano, TREY
HENRY on bass, and BERNIE DRESEL on drums, round out the
rhythm section. To create the orchestral sound, Williams also
engaged the famed Budapest Scoring Orchestra for strings and
additional woodwinds.
To
add to the album’s vibrant texture, William’s brought on board
several of his favorite vocalists to perform as solo artists and in
various combinations on each of the songs. “Every singer has their
own sound and own approach,” says Williams. “I chose singers that I
thought would do the best job on each of the songs, and I then
arranged the songs to fit each singer’s style and vocal range.”
Williams
sets the tone for the album with the opening number, “It’s the Most
Wonderful Time of the Year.” The song features the warm
voice of ALEX STILES, a young vocalist whose style and vocal quality sounds like
the big band singers from the 40s and 50s. The arrangement combines
big band swing with strings and horns creating a blend of jazz and
orchestral music. Stiles is also heard on “The Christmas Song,”
which opens with the sounds of a gentle wind, snow and rustling
leaves. “Happy Holiday” features a swinging, straight-ahead big
band arrangement sung by NATE BRYANT with backup vocals by
Utah-based group, Company B, which comprises HAYLEY KIRKLAND,
CLARA CAMPBELL, and KATE PLEWE.
REBECCA
LOPEZ’s breathy
voice is featured on “White Christmas,” while EVON COLLETT and
CONNOR ROSS intertwine their voice on
“Santa Claus Is Coming To Town.” “Rockin’ Around The Christmas
Tree” features TAYLOR MIRANDA, a vocalist in
Williams’ virtual cinematic pop band TREN. There are
unexpected twists and turns on the “Here Comes Santa
Claus/Jingle Bells/Frosty The Snowman” medley sung by HAYLEY
KIRKLAND, CONNOR ROSS, and COMPANY B.
Williams
discovered Russian vocalist DMITRY NOSKOV online and thought
his voice was reminiscent of Sinatra, so he engaged his vocals on “Have
Yourself A Merry Little Christmas” remotely from Russia. Hayley Kirkland and
Company B swing like crazy on “Winter Wonderland.” New York
vocalist and trumpet player BENNY BENACK III, backed by
Company B, rip through a steaming version of “Let It
Snow.”
Christmas
is all about home and family, so Williams wanted to include songs
about home. He chose CHELSEA BROOKE OLSON for her sweet,
breathy voice to sing “Home For The Holidays” and “I’ll Be Home For
Christmas.” Williams closes the album with “Somewhere In My
Memory,” a song from the movie Home Alone. This is a mostly
instrumental piece with background vocals by JULIE SEECHUCK.
Williams
takes a unique approach on this album by including the instrumental
tracks without vocals for people who may just want to listen to the
music and to highlight his arrangements, which stand ably alone
because of their cinematic quality.
# # #
HOLLYWOOD CHRISTMAS is now available everywhere.
Online:
Richardmusic.com
Facebook.com/RichardWilliamsMusic
IG:
@musicrichardwilliams
Twitter:
@bufjap
Youtube.com/channel/UCFLfcRvGFQVmBJmqKlsAImw
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